Vineland man charged in two local bank heists

VINELAND – A Vineland man has been charged in connection with armed robberies of two local Newfield Banks, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced today.

Stephan Byrd, 39, of Foster Avenue was charged with two counts of committing armed bank robbery and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

Byrd appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel Schneider in Camden and was detained.

Byrd has been lodged in Cumberland County Jail since July 28 on a Vineland police warrant for attempted homicide related to an incident on Pennsylvania Avenue on July 16, according to police.

Byrd is charged with armed robbery on July 19 of the Newfield Bank on East Landis Avenue, near Lincoln Avenue. Two masked men entered the bank and one jumped over the counter, forcing tellers way from their stations. Both fled on foot.

Byrd is also charged in the July 21 armed robbery of the Newfield Bank on Delsea Drive in Franklinville, just 10 miles away from the previous crime scene.

In that case, the armed suspect entered the Malaga bank branch, jumped over the counter and demanded money from the tellers.

A witness alerted 9-1-1, saying he saw the suspect flee the bank and was able to follow him in his vehicle along Delsea Drive. But the bank robber noticed he was being trailed and fired shots at the witness, who was not struck by the gunfire, police said.

The suspect fled on foot into the woods, launching a massive search by Vineland K-9 units and a N.J. State Police helicopter.

Bryd was later arrested in connection with the July 16 shooting of a landscaping worker that unfolded at Berryman's Branch manufactured home community off of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Police said the injured man told investigators he was able to the deflect one of the shots fired at him using a shovel. Byrd was also detained on outstanding warrants from North Brunswick at that time.

Byrd's arrest comes after a collaborative law enforcement investigation between the Vineland and Franklin Township police departments in conjunction with the FBI in Newark and Philadelphia; U.S. Marshals Service Task Force, New Jersey State Police, Hamilton Township and North Brunswick police departments and the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office.

The Vineland and Franklin Township Police Departments are continuing their investigations and requesting anyone with information to come forward or contact any of the numbers listed below.